Gov. John Bel Edwards plans to propose a pay raise for Louisiana teachers. The move comes as teacher pay in the state continues to fall thousands of dollars short of the national average.

A spokeswoman for the governor's office confirmed Monday that Edwards will ask lawmakers to increase the states's per pupil funding by 2.75 percent under the state's Minimum Foundation Program, or MFP, in order to fund raises for the 2019-20 school year. Louisiana's Education Department uses the MFP formula to assign funding to school districts based on enrollment.

Shauna Sanford, the state's communications director, said half of the proposed MFP increase would be dedicated to fund pay increases for teachers and school employees. The governor is also seeking additional funding to enhance the increase, she said.

"Gov. Edwards is a long-time supporter of teachers and is committed to doing what he can to not only elevate the status of the teaching profession, but to help raise their pay as well, which he believes they deserve," Sanford said.

Salary data provided by the Southern Regional Education Board shows the governor's proposed pay raise would be the second pay raise for Louisiana teachers within the last decade. The data tracks teacher pay from 1989 to 2016.

The average Louisiana teacher's pay peaked at $51,381 during the 2012-13 school year, but has since fallen. It was down to $49,745 during the 2015-16 school year. That same year, the average annual pay for teachers in the South was $50,955. The national average was $58,363.

The interactive chart below compares the average Louisiana teacher's salary to the average salary teachers received in 15 other southern states from 2003 to 2016. Click the graph and scroll to the right to view pay comparisons from the 2012-13 school year through the 2015-16 school year.

Louisiana teachers earn roughly $1,700 less than the average among states tracked by the Southern Regional Education Board. Sanford said that gap is expected to increase in the future.

State Education Superintendent John White is also calling for lawmakers to act on teacher pay, telling WRKF's Jim Engster on August 16 that a pay increase for teachers "has to happen now."

"The funding formula for K-12 education has increased, but it hasn't increased at a rate necessary to keep up with our competitors and we are in a serious state of risking — losing — the competition for teaching talent," White said.

Meanwhile, educators statewide are mulling ways to call attention to teacher shortages and pay raises. An online survey taken by 3,832 teachers from 73 school districts in Louisiana this spring found 61 percent of teachers would support a statewide walkout or a strike to force lawmakers to approve pay increases, according to the Louisiana Federation of Teachers.

The Orleans Parish School Board in June voted to increase the base salaries of its teachers and staff by 5 percent for the 2019 fiscal year starting Oct. 1, 2018. However, the city's public school system mostly consists of charter schools operated by non-governmental groups that manage their own school expenses. The OPSB's pay increase is limited to its exceptional children's staff, central office personnel, and the school-based positions at its two direct-run schools.

Kate Walsh, president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, said last October many teachers in New Orleans struggle in trying to save money to buy a home or pay down monthly housing expenses, such as mortgage payments and utilities. That said, local teaching salaries are typically enough to afford rent for a single-bedroom apartment. Walsh noted the city's decentralized school system may be in a better position to find and implement solutions for closing the teacher pay gap.